Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: The Yaksha's Son
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"Fool. Idiot. Anemone. Ugly."
"If I'm ugly, then what are you!?"
O Ja-ha, who had been silently enduring his little sister Ja-du's barrage of insults, finally snapped.
He just couldn't tolerate being called ugly.
"I'm an idol! Admit that my shining face contributes at least a little to House Silla's popularity!!"
"Even giving you the benefit of the doubt a hundred times and assuming your forced claim is true, it's still nowhere near enough to forgive you. Today, you properly tarnished House Silla's reputation."
The bob-cut hippie-perm girl scolded him.
O Ja-ha flinched under her icy gaze, came to his senses, and bowed his head again.
"I'm sorry, Young Lord."
"Why did you stop your sword mid-swing? It's not like you to suddenly turn cold-blooded."
Silla Kyung, who had been quietly gazing out the window, suddenly asked.
When he tilted his head slightly, his cascading hair evoked the Milky Way. It was a beautiful sight, even seeing it every day.
"W-Well..."
O Ja-ha hesitated for a moment but sensed Silla Kyung's genuine curiosity and answered honestly.
"It felt dangerous."
"?
The group tilted their heads in confusion.
They had received a detailed report of the restaurant incident.
They heard that O Ja-ha, after arguing with Loren and impulsively insulting House Kang, couldn't hold back and swung his sword first at a boy named Lee Jin-seong.
...No idea how it escalated to that, but anyway.
O Ja-ha's swordsmanship incorporated extreme speed and variability.
It was fast and unpredictable, making it hard for anyone facing it for the first time to respond.
Especially if the opponent was weaker than O Ja-ha?
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they'd be completely helpless.
Yet O Ja-ha himself had sensed danger and stopped his attack?
"Why?"
"Well..."
O Ja-ha couldn't answer rashly to his sister, who blinked her pink eyes—so like his own.
Kang Jae-hyeok.
The moment that guy gripped the sword hilt, O Ja-ha had felt a chill down his spine.
It was right before his twin blades crossed.
If Kang Jae-hyeok had drawn then, the two sword paths O Ja-ha created would have been blocked at the intersection.
Meaning his swordsmanship had been seen through in an instant.
'...No way.'
It must have just been coincidence, right?
In fact, Kang Jae-hyeok never drew his sword to the end.
He probably couldn't.
Yeah, that makes sense.
There's no monster in the world besides the Young Lord who could analyze my swordsmanship's weakness after seeing it just once.
'Even if that guy really has exceptional insight.'
He's weak.
During the entrance re-examination, Jae-hyeok's level was only 10.
Even assuming above-average talent, he'd be between 17 and 19 now.
Even if Kang Jae-hyeok had swung on time, it would've been meaningless.
The moment he blocked my sword, he wouldn't have withstood the power and would've been sliced clean through along with his blade.
"What's your level, Ja-ha?"
Silla Kyung, who had been silent, posed a new question.
"38."
This time, O Ja-ha answered confidently.
In terms of level alone, enrolling in Lion's Castle wasn't all bad.
Hunting monsters while wandering for quests every night had boosted his level quickly.
Silla Kyung thought differently.
"You're growing slowly. We need to tighten the scouting schedule."
"E-Even tighter here? We barely rest 10 minutes every 3 hours as it is."
"You're spending most of your time moving rather than fighting—what's the problem?"
His tone implied that simply walking, running, or climbing walls was no different from resting.
"I-It’s tough..."
Ja-du made a pouty face.
She was already worried about the knots forming in her calves lately.
Of course, an Awakened's body changing from exercise was unlikely, but it was a matter of feeling.
"If you really can't stand it, just think of it as paying for O Ja-ha's mistake."
"He’s the one who messed up—why us too... Ow! Ah, seriously! Mo Yo-ah! I told you not to hit my head! You're always smacking my head when you won't take responsibility if I get dumber!"
The bob-cut hippie-perm girl looked at Ja-du, who was yelling after getting a knuckle on the back of her head, with pity.
"Our growth has slowed recently. More precisely, it's slowed relative to others... You don't plan on getting overtaken by average students just because we're taking it easy, do you?"
Class A's average level had recently broken past 28.
Considering Silla Kyung's group wasn't included in the tally, it was tremendous growth.
Especially students like Chae Da-hee and Im Yu-jin had shown dazzling progress. If O Ja-ha, his sister, and Mo Yo-ah got caught by them, it could damage House Silla's prestige.
'Of course, the chance of that is near zero.'
Still, it was necessary to instill vigilance so Ja-ha wouldn't cause more trouble.
"I'll go personally apologize to Young Lord Kang Jae-hyeok."
Silla Kyung shook his head at Mo Yo-ah's words.
"No, I'll go myself. He'll probably insist my apology isn't enough..."
Mid-sentence, Silla Kyung trailed off, lost in thought.
He reviewed the restaurant incident.
Combining testimonies from retainers he had planted as eyes and ears throughout the school, he had grasped the full sequence.
'Did O Ja-ha react overly sensitively to Kang Jae-hyeok?'
The answer was obviously 'yes.'
It stemmed from O Ja-ha's innate personality.
'What if Kang Jae-hyeok understood O Ja-ha's personality?'
Could he have manipulated O Ja-ha's reactions step by step, buying time until the teacher arrived?
"......"
Silla Kyung turned his gaze back to the window.
The expansive view of Lion's Castle was endlessly prosperous and beautiful.
Land guarded by the Yaksha.
'And the Yaksha's son.'
The beautiful silver-haired boy's expression grew subtle.
***
Evening.
After finishing the day's routine, Jae-hyeok prepared to head to the coast.
"Jae-hyeok!"
While checking his route to avoid the Martial Force, Chae Da-hee appeared waving.
Her small, frail body was covered in sweat and dust.
She must have kept up personal training even after classes ended.
Jae-hyeok smiled warmly and asked a question that suddenly occurred to him.
"Why don't you drop the formalities with just me?"
Da-hee rarely used '-ssi' with anyone.
She generally spoke casually with the first-years.
It felt slightly distant, leaving Jae-hyeok a bit hurt.
"Because you're His Excellency Yaksha's son!"
Da-hee wasn't keeping distance from Jae-hyeok.
She just treated him differently out of respect for the Yaksha.
"Good thing. I almost felt snubbed."
"Hee-hee, more importantly, I heard the rumor. You almost got in big trouble this morning?"
"Big trouble? It was internal Class A stuff—I just got slightly dragged in."
"From what I heard, O Ja-ha was the one in the wrong! He got heated and went after House Kang? You held back impressively."
The first time she saw Jae-hyeok.
Da-hee thought he was a fighting cock.
Throwing trays in the middle of the cafeteria to fight, plotting to assassinate(?) a teacher.
She thought he was completely crazy.
But it was a misconception.
Surprisingly, Jae-hyeok didn't wield violence recklessly.
During the re-exam when students pointed fingers at him, when provoked by Silla Kyung unleashing his aura, when barging into the Archery Club, and even this morning.
Unlike the rumors, he never flaunted his considerable skill.
"Jae-hyeok-ssi seems quietly kind."
Quietly?
Unsure if it was praise or an insult, Jae-hyeok chuckled and shrugged.
"Not kind. Try not to hold biases. If you assume and expect on your own and get disappointed later, it'll hurt both of us."
Jae-hyeok was far from innocent.
He refrained from using force simply because it wasn't necessary.
"Even when the whole world criticized His Excellency Yaksha, I wasn't disappointed."
Even glimpsing the shadow that briefly crossed Jae-hyeok's face.
"It's my role to accept who you are."
Da-hee's purple eyes were as straight as ever.
"...I see."
Making someone like you is my role, then.
Recalling the changing faces of Lee Jin-seong, Du Bae-su, and Cheon Hye-ji, Jae-hyeok waved her off.
"Go wash up already. You reek of sweat, seriously."
"P-Players sweating is normal! And my sweat smells like an industry award!"
"...Filter what Im Yu-jin says."
The decent mood shattered.
Jae-hyeok sent off the blushing, fleeing Da-hee with a mischievous grin and began loosening up.
Time to move.
***
Name: Kang Jae-hyeok
Level: 29
Mana: 1,270/1,270
Strength: 127 Stamina: 127 Agility: 99 Magic: 127 Insight: 99
Skills: [Noble Knightly Virtue], [King's Roar], [Empty]
Jae-hyeok's status window had surpassed flashy—it was dazzling.
At just level 29, his stats exceeded the average for B-rank Players. Words like "impressive" or "freakish" fit perfectly.
And that was just the 'stats.'
Factoring in personal feats and skills, the vast majority of B-rank Players could no longer handle him.
'Should've gone all out from the start.'
He sneered, recalling the assassins who had targeted him so far.
At their level, even full effort from now on wouldn't touch him.
Opportunity always goes to the desperate.
They weren't desperate.
"Whew. Don't get ahead of yourself."
The secret to Jae-hyeok's superior stats was clear.
Polishing body and mind to the limit before Awakening, stacking nearly 20 achievements.
Was there anyone else like that in the world?
Even O Ja-ha from this morning wielded astonishing swordsmanship.
'I must remember there are always people stronger than me.'
Click!
Unleashing Iyarugut swordsmanship, Jae-hyeok dyed the night's darkness red before sheathing.
He had finished adjusting his skills and swordsmanship to his grown physique.
Splash!
He dove into the pitch-black sea.
Hunting sea monsters.
Jang Yeon-ju worried it'd take the whole weekend, but Jae-hyeok's stance was entirely different.
[King's Roar]
Kurrrrrrrr!!
The roar buried beneath the surface summoned a tidal wave.
Startled sea monsters leaping out en masse.